Recently I co-authored a book on scientific publishing. It is available from LuLu for less than € 6,-. When that’s too much for you, you can download it for free. The book is published under a CC-BY-NC licence.
From the cover:
Most scientific journals provide guidelines for authors – how to format references and prepare artwork, how many copies of the paper to submit and to which address. However, most official guidelines say little about how you should design and produce your paper and the chances that it will be accepted. This book provides a comprehensive but focused guide to producing scientific information – from research design to publication. It provides practical tips and answers to some of the most frequently asked questions: Why do we publish in the first place? What is OA publishing and why bother about it? What is the h-index? What is a Journal Impact Factor and does it matter? How can I increase my research production efficiency? Why should I use OS software tools for academic work? How can I produce graphics that will impress? How can I brainstorm good titles? How can I select a suitable journal and where can I find out more about it? How can I get into the reviewers’ heads?